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Passenger Cars, Bakkies & Vans News

Ford, Volkswagen to join hands on EV, bakkie projects

By: Irma Venter 11th June 2020 US car maker Ford Motor Company and its German counterpart Volkswagen have signed agreements that will expand their global alliance to medium pickups (one-ton bakkies) and other commercial and electric vehicles (EVs). The companies anticipate continued growth in global demand for commercial... →

BMW SA restarts exports from its Rosslyn plant

By: Irma Venter 11th June 2020 BMW Group South Africa (BMW SA) has restarted exports following the national lockdown to slow the spread of Covid-19. The local arm of the German car maker has dispatched almost 2 000 BMW X3 vehicles to European export markets, in response to global demand, with an approximate value of... →

Naamsa expects a 25% drop in vehicle exports, production, sales

By: Irma Venter 8th June 2020 The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) expects a roughly 25% drop in the production, sale and export of new vehicles in and from South Africa, says Naamsa CEO Mike Mabasa. “This is a huge number. When we started the year, the outlook was for a 5% decline,... →

Isuzu SA’s new boss targets double cab sales, brand digitalisation

By: Irma Venter 8th June 2020 Isuzu Motors South Africa (Isuzu SA) has a new captain at the helm. Describing himself as a plaasjapie from Alexandria, in the Eastern Cape, Billy Tom (50) has been appointed CEO and MD from July 1. He succeeds outgoing MD Michael Sacke, who has opted to pursue other opportunities. →

Billy Tom

Metair clinches multibillion-rand contracts as Ford expands in South Africa

By: Irma Venter 5th June 2020 Metair has secured multiple contracts from Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) as the local arm of the US vehicle maker prepares to launch new vehicles for the local and export markets. The new launches form part of a fresh investment and production expansion programme at Ford to meet... →

South Africa broke auto-export records pre-Covid-19, but outlook is stifled

By: Irma Venter 5th June 2020 The nearly 100% decline in April new-vehicle sales and export figures serves as barometer of the impact of Covid-19 on the domestic automotive industry and the economy at large, says National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa and Automotive Industry Export Council executive... →

Covid-19 to exact heavy toll on SA’s production of vehicles in 2020

By: Irma Venter 5th June 2020 Taking into account an anticipated 6.1% decline in South Africa’s economic growth, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, new-vehicle sales will probably fall by between 20% and 30% in 2020, says a report issued by the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC), titled ‘Re-gearing the Gauteng... →

Used-car market shrinks, but search stats indicate positive outlook

By: Irma Venter 3rd June 2020 While used-car sales in South Africa in May mimicked floundering new-car sales, consumers are demonstrating increasing interest in buying used cars, says digital motoring marketplace, AutoTrader. More than 17 000 used cars were sold on AutoTrader in May compared with more than 36 000 in the same... →

Covid-19 hampers Wits platinum recycling laboratory

By: Donna Slater 3rd June 2020 The prevailing Covid-19 pandemic has brought research and innovations into recycling platinum-group metals (PGMs) from disused catalytic converts, led by two University of Witwatersrand (Wits) MSc graduates Collins Saguru and Muofhe Singo, to a near standstill. The duo have ventured into the... →

Collins Saguru

Battery metals traceability project launched to enhance sustainability of industry

By: Donna Slater 2nd June 2020 Finland-based research, development and innovation organisation VTT says the success of electric vehicles (EVs) may be determined by production methods and information on the origins of battery materials in the future. VTT and the Geological Survey of Finland GTK, there, have launched a battery... →

Auto industry awaits new normal as sales drop by 68%

By: Irma Venter 2nd June 2020 The new-vehicle market during May recorded 12 932-unit sales as the industry spluttered back to life following the Alert Level 5 national lockdown. This number is 68% down on May last year and is only about 30% of the market activity seen in the first two months of the year. →

Ford implements phased restart at vehicle, engine plants

By: Irma Venter 1st June 2020 Ford has implemented a phased restart for its South African operations beginning June 1, including kicking off vehicle and engine production and bringing back the first wave of employees who are not able to do their jobs remotely. "We’ve been working intently with national government, our safety... →

Reopened Merc plant gears up for face-shield, breathing-aid production

By: Irma Venter 29th May 2020 Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) will manufacture three-dimensional- (3D-) printed recyclable plastic face shields for use in the mass screening for Covid-19, and for use at clinics and hospitals. In addition, and pending quality assurance regulatory approval, the local arm of the German auto... →

Cartrack says there has been no spike in cancellations owing to Covid-19

By: Irma Venter 29th May 2020 Cartrack CEO Zak Calisto is confident the asset management and workforce optimisation company will be able to weather the current Covid-19 storm, provided “the storm doesn’t last forever”. “We have been able to deliver a high level of service to all our customers, despite the economic disruptions... →

VWSA restarts production, exports

By: Irma Venter 27th May 2020 Following a gradual production ramp-up, the Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) plant in Uitenhage has resumed its manufacturing and export operations. Production was restarted on May 4 already, in line with the regulations pertaining to Alert Level 4 of the Covid-19 lockdown, with essential... →

Thomas Schäfer

Auto industry to face up to 30% job, production losses, says AIDC report

By: Irma Venter 27th May 2020 Taking into account an anticipated 6.1% decline in South Africa’s economic growth owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, new-vehicle sales will probably fall by between 20% and 30% in 2020, says a report issued by the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC), titled Re-gearing the Gauteng... →

Festival of Motoring postponed to August 2021

By: Chanel de Bruyn 26th May 2020 Event organiser Messe Frankfurt South Africa is postponing its Festival of Motoring event to August 2021. The Festival of Motoring, presented by WesBank, is the largest automotive show on the African continent and the only national industry-supported event endorsed by the National Association of... →

New emissions blow for VW as German court backs damages claims

By: Reuters 25th May 2020 Volkswagen must pay compensation to owners of vehicles with rigged diesel engines in Germany, a court ruled on Monday, dealing a fresh blow to the automaker almost five years after its emissions scandal erupted. The ruling by Germany’s highest court for civil disputes, which will allow owners to... →

Van searches double as Alert Level 4 eases restrictions, says AutoTrader

By: Irma Venter 20th May 2020 Digital automotive marketplace AutoTrader says it has seen a sharp uptick in the searches for delivery vans as South Africa entered Alert Level 4 of the national lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19. “We have observed that, since the commencement of Level 4 lockdown, South African search... →

The VW Caddy

Competition Tribunal approves settlement between Commission, Faurecia

By: Irma Venter 19th May 2020 The Competition Tribunal has approved, as an order, a consent agreement between the Competition Commission and Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies South Africa, owned by Faurecia, in France. The agreement relates to an investigation initiated by the commission in 2014 against several... →

African car market can grow despite Covid-19, says AAAM’s Coffey

By: Irma Venter 18th May 2020 Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, new-vehicle sales in sub-Saharan Africa can grow from around 100 000 a year, outside South Africa, to around two-million a year in the next 15 years – and this is a “very, very conservative” estimate, says African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) CEO... →

Motor vehicle dealers ready for reopening, says dealer association

By: Irma Venter 15th May 2020 Motor vehicle dealers in South Africa selling both new and used vehicles are ready for the reopening of trade, as announced by government this week, says National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) chairperson Mark Dommisse. NADA has more than 1 300 members including 85% of all new-vehicle... →

Mark Dommisse

A number of firsts as electric Jaguar I-Pace named Car of the Year

By: Irma Venter 15th May 2020 The all-electric Jaguar I-Pace EV400 AWD SE has been named the 2020 AutoTrader South African Car of the Year. This is the first time the competition has been won by a Jaguar, and it is also the first win by an electric vehicle. →

Covid-19 lockdown pummels April new-vehicle sales, exports

By: Irma Venter 15th May 2020 As could be expected during the Level 5 Covid-19 lockdown, new-vehicle sales and exports numbered almost zero in April. With dealerships closed, businesses forced to work remotely and consumers stuck at home, traffic was at an all-time low, never mind sales, notes vehicle and asset finance... →

WesBank receives more than 70 000 requests for payment relief

By: Irma Venter 15th May 2020 WesBank has, to date, received 64 434 individual customer requests for payment relief, owing to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as 5 752 business customer requests, says head of marketing and communication Lebogang Gaoaketse. In March, WesBank announced payment relief plans to assist... →

Bakkies helping to fight pandemic

By: Cameron Mackay 15th May 2020 Automotive manufacturer Isuzu Motors South Africa has made its media test fleet of vehicles available to disaster response nongovernmental organisation (NGO) Gift of the Givers Foundation’s Covid-19 emergency response. “Instead of the bakkies being parked during this time, they were used to help... →

DISASTER RELIEF EFFORT These Isuzu water tank trucks operate daily between Makhanda and Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape, where severe drought continues

Lubrication solution more accessible for agriculture sector

By: Cameron Mackay 15th May 2020 Industrial lubrication solutions provider Lubrication Engineers (LE) South Africa is supplying its Monolec engine oils in 5 ℓ and 1 ℓ containers to accommodate the requirements of bakkies and small trucks in the local agriculture sector. LE South Africa national sales manager Llewellyn Owen says... →

LLEWELLYN OWEN It was decided that the Monolec range would be made more accessible to all those in the whole spectrum of industry, and to those in the private markets

Rear-eject body production expanded to Brazil

15th May 2020 Last month, off-highway truck customisation solutions provider Philippi-Hagenbuch (PHIL) announced that the production of its patented rear eject body will begin in Brazil in the second quarter of this year. The expansion of services in South America will better serve the construction and mining... →

TOUGH HAULING PHIL’s line of rear eject bodies are engineered to offer the ideal productivity-enhancing solution for challenging hauling applications

Joint venture formed for fuel cell production

15th May 2020 Automotive manufacturers Volvo Group and Daimler Truck have signed a preliminary non-binding agreement to establish a new joint venture (JV) to develop, produce and commercialise fuel cell systems for heavy-duty vehicle applications and other use cases. Both companies share the Green Deal vision... →

CARBON NEUTRAL TRANSPORT Both companies seek to to offer heavy-duty vehicles with fuel cells for demanding long-haul applications in series production in the second half of the decade

Re-opened Merc plant gears up for face-shield, breathing aid production

By: Irma Venter 14th May 2020 Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) will manufacture 3D-printed recyclable plastic face shields for use in the mass screening for Covid-19, and for use at clinics and hospitals. In addition, and pending quality assurance regulatory approval, the local arm of the German auto manufacturer will also... →

The CPAP device

Cartrack sees no spike in cancellations owing to Covid-19, says Calisto

By: Irma Venter 13th May 2020 Cartrack CEO Zak Calisto is confident the asset management and workforce optimisation company will be able to weather the current Covid-19 storm, provided “the storm doesn’t last forever”. “We have been able to deliver a high level of service to all our customers, despite the economic disruptions... →

Zak Calisto

The motor industry re-opens its doors

By: Irma Venter 13th May 2020 Newly published regulations by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition have allowed the motor industry to immediately open for business, albeit under strict conditions. “We have carefully crafted new directives which will empower our dealership network across the country to cautiously... →

DoT unveils plans for new auto terminal at Durban, branch line concessioning

By: Irma Venter 12th May 2020 The Department of Transport (DoT) intends to take over the functioning of struggling integrated public transport networks (IPTNs) in five cities, with six cities currently operating these systems, says Department of Transport director-general Alec Moemi. IPTNs should, ideally, incorporate bus... →

VWSA lost 17 000 units owing to lockdown; restarts production

By: Irma Venter 11th May 2020 Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has lost production of around 17 000 vehicles at its Uitenhage plant, in the Eastern Cape, owing to the national Covid-19 lockdown, says chairperson and MD Thomas Schäfer. The plant produces the Polo hatchback for the local and global export markets, with the... →

Thomas Schäfer

Carmakers urged to invest in mines to avoid battery metal pinch

By: Bloomberg 11th May 2020 Mine developers scrambling to fund projects to meet forecast demand for battery metals see the threat of looming supply crunches as a trigger for electric-vehicle makers to step in with investments. An already tough environment to raise project finance for the mines is being made worse by the... →

Auto exports broke several records pre-Covid-19, says Lamprecht

By: Irma Venter 8th May 2020 The nearly 100% decline in April new-vehicle sales and export figures serves as barometer of the impact of Covid-19 on the domestic automotive industry and the economy at large, says National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa and Automotive Industry Export Council executive... →

Norman Lamprecht

Sasol Solar Challenge postponed to early 2021

By: Irma Venter 7th May 2020 This year's Sasol Solar Challenge (SSC) has been postponed until early 2021. The solar car racing event is provisionally scheduled to take place from February 19 to February 26, instead of September this year as initially planned, say the organisers. →

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